Weird Al Yankovic's 'Mandatory Fun' Tops Billboard Chart

LOS ANGELES, July 23 (UPI)–Weird Al Yankovic has earned his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200.

The 54-year-old parody singer released Mandatory Fun on July 15, his fourteenth studio album and a followup to 2011’s Alpocalypse. The record includes twelve new parodies, including a “Handy” version of Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” a “Foil” rendition of Lorde’s “Royals” and a “Word Crimes” remake of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.”

Mandatory Fun sold 104,000 copies in its first week, and is the first comedy album to top the chart since 1963. Yankovic released a series of music videos to accompany the new songs, and responded to the album going No. 1 with happy disbelief.

Yankovic released his first album, “Weird Al” Yankovich, in 1983. His albums Straight Outta Lynwood (2006) and Alpocalypse (2011) reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200, but Mandatory Fun is the first to go No. 1. The singer told the Toronto Sun this week he attributes his long career to his tenacity, strong work ethic and the talented people in his life.